The Force Unleashed III
by Adam Patterson
Summary: After learning that Lucas Arts have cancelled development on TFUIII, I felt compelled to try and finish Starkiller's story.
1. Chapter 1

Dear Reader & fellow Star Wars Fan

I've made a slight adjustment to the SW time line to make more sense of The Force Unleashed II and to allow better continuity with mu humbly submitted version of The Force Unleashed III. I have moved The Force Unleashed II from 2 years before Star Wars: A New Hope to 1 year after Star Wars: A New Hope, so the timeline order would be:

_**2 years before Star Wars: A New Hope**_

The Force Unleashed

**Star Wars: A New Hope - Year 0**

_**1 year after Star Wars: A New Hope**_

The Force Unleashed II

The Force Unleashed III

Rebel Assault II: Hidden Empire

_**3 years after Star Wars: A New Hope**_

The Empire Strikes Back

Please forgive this slight change to the current timeline.

My story for the continuation of The Force Unleashed is based on both games only, not either of the fine novels or comic books. I have also work along the canon light side endings, ignoring the events from the dark side endings.


	2. Chapter 2

-1-

Kota was right – no one could clone a Jedi.

Three years ago, aboard the Galactic Empire's greatest weapon, the Death Star, Darth Vader declared to his master the Emperor, "He is dead."

The Emperor had quickly replied, "Then he is now more powerful than ever."

They had stood over the fallen body of Galen Marek, Vader's secret apprentice.

Found as a boy by Vader, the Dark Lord had sensed incredible power in the youth and so trained him in the dark side of the Force, keeping him hidden from everyone and giving the boy the codename; Starkiller.

As they had stood over the body of the boy who had become a powerful man, Darth Vader had no longer felt the presence of his former apprentice.

Galen had watched as his body was taken away and put in stasis, not knowing why his former master had declared him dead to the Dark Lord of the Sith. It was a strange feeling of awareness but not emanating from any familiar place. Shortly afterwards, his spirit left.

Marek's body, his physical shell was preserved while his spirit slumbered, drifting in the Force like dust in the Kuras Drift.

Months passed and new versions of himself were brought into being, though never really living, never the masters of their own fate. They were the experiments of the increasingly frustrated Darth Vader and they were often destroyed as quickly as they were created.

Back in the throne room of the original Death Star, as Darth Vader had stood over the Starkiller's body, crippled by the attack he had endured by Marek, he had realised that the words his apprentice had spoken to him on the Corellian peak were true.

"Without me, you'll never be free," Marek had told him.

Vader then watched aboard the Death Star, as Marek defeated the Emperor and then sacrificed himself so that his allies could escape. Both Marek and the Emperor had been at the centre of the Force explosion, but only Marek had suffered the full effects of the detonation. The Force explosion had injured his spirit, driving it to become one with the Force before Marek's true death. Though Galen Marek lived, his spirit wandered in the essence of the Force, until he could be awakened, reunited with his body.

Months that expanded to years were spent in the laboratories as Darth Vader tried to create a perfect clone of his former apprentice from his still-living body. The body was easily copied but the first batch of clones were entirely barren of mediclorians, so had no ability with the Force at all.

Vader's science team soon developed an artificial substitute for the mediclorians, based on blood samples from the Jedi achieves combined with Marek's own blood. For some reason, the mediclorians within Marek remained inert, making for poor samples by themselves, so what remained of the Jedi archives had been raided.

The batches of clones that were subsequently created were divided into various groups, which themselves centred around those that had a strong meld with the artificial mediclorians and those that were more suited to basic combat functions. A third, more focused group also existed that were assigned to the terror trooper program. but in all three cases none came close to matching the original in the measurement of shear power. The scientists soon realised that the life forms they had created to replace the mediclorians were driving the test subjects insane, interfering with neural functions to the point of insanity.

Exasperated, Vader began to motivate his cloning team with new threats and punishments for failure. This prompted a science team leader to suggest a radical alternative to programming the clones. Instead of giving them rational thought why not make them mindless, simple and obedient slaves. But that was not what Vader wanted. He desired soldiers that could think and react on their own, not what would essentially be a cyborg army; flesh based Force users that needed a controller. However, the idea of mind control intrigued Vader and led him to a new path of thinking. _What if the real Starkiller could be convinced _he _was a clone? Perhaps he could then be turned once more to the dark side._

The Emperor had demanded results in the plan to expose and eliminate the Rebels. Even if Starkiller could not be turned, he could at least be used lead Vader to the Rebels, Starkiller's only friends.…

His memories were suppressed and when Vader's scientists were willing to stake their lives on that, Starkiller was at last awoken. Like he had before, Vader lied to his returned apprentice and told him he was a clone, a mere copy like all the others and like them, furnished with the memories of a dead man. Vader claimed that only six months had passed and in that small amount of time the cloning process had reached the point where he, Starkiller, had been created from the original and now deceased Galen Marek. The lie was in place and settled within Galen's mind, and yet… Starkiller knew. Somehow he had always known.

But Galen Marek denied who he was, refused to believe he was the man he had been and so became someone else. His alter ego, Starkiller, the mantle of his guise as Vader's apprentice became his new identity. But his own feelings for Juno Eclipse became his focus, driving him back towards the truth of who he was and the simple fact that whatever else may have been copied, love could not be cloned.

Vader's progress with Starkiller's deception was going well, but was also being observed and as Starkiller made his escape from Kamino, the Emperor's spies watched. Nearly three years ago, Vader had declared the man dead in the very presence of the Emperor, though the Emperor's response had been only, "Then he is now more powerful than ever."

The spies had remained cloaked while they observed Starkiller. They had mused upon the limitless power of the Force, that their own master had also been at the heart of the explosion that Vader claimed had killed his apprentice, and yet Palpatine had lived, unharmed. Had Vader successfully cloned his old apprentice as the Dark Lord claimed or was this the original Starkiller, Galen Marek, tricked into believing Vader's lie?

The spies made their way to the world of Byss, where their master, Emperor Palpatine, was currently conducting his own secret cloning experiments.

"Ah, what have you to report," Palpatine enquired in a surprisingly jovial mood, "what of Lord Vader?"

A spy stepped forward humbly and bowed. "He has betrayed you, Master."

"Oh?" Palpatine enquired, losing none of his good humour.

"Yes Master," agreed the second spy, bowing as he too stepped forward. "Lord Vader has failed to successfully clone his former apprentice, who we believe is still alive and has now escaped."

"Of course he is still alive!" Palpatine snapped.

Momentarily confused, the spies waited for their master to explain, if he chose to. Palpatine stepped away from them and towards the large wall screen behind him, the source of illumination for the entire gloomy room. He looked up at the readouts upon the screen, his back to his subjects, as he monitored the progress bar of a data readout.

"Lord Vader has always been a loyal apprentice, but he is also a man of initiative. I expected that one day he would attempt to rise up against me. It is the Sith way.

"It was my plan to clone the body of Starkiller, his apprentice, and create an army, strong in the dark side of the Force. I chose to let Vader think he had a secret, but we both knew that only Starkiller's spirit had gone. His body had kept its life."

The spies tilted their heads and glanced at one another, but remained silent.

"As I suspected, the cloning process has not been able to create mediclorians and Vader's solution, an artificial substitute for the mediclorians added through a genetically engineered cocktail, though able to imitate a Force users abilities, has driven the clones mad. It seems that the Force cannot be cloned, that a body can be only artificially supplemented to create the illusion of a Force wielder, as Vader's Starkiller clones have demonstrated at the cost of their sanity. Perhaps there is even a link between the medicloians and the spirit of the body they choose to inhabit," mused the Emperor. "Such things must be considered and explored…"

"Yes, Master," agreed the spies.

As if Palpatine had momentarily been caught up in thoughts of immense consequence, plans that had taken him far from the lab in which they now stood, he turned reluctantly back to his spies. "I had not doubted Lord Vader would admit defeat in his effort to clone his former apprentice. I foresaw it. The whole reason you were despatched to watch the cloning process was so that you could inform me when Vader chose to wake his apprentice.

"But I sense your confusion, so I will tell you. You were not informed of Starkiller's status so that should you be captured by Rebels, they would never know that their champion still lived."

The spies immediately submitted to the master's wisdom, "Yes, Master."

"His escape was unforeseen, but could present an opportunity to continue with my original plan."

Palpatine left the lab with the spies behind him and flanked by his guards. The corridors were dim and narrow as Palpatine led his entourage to the communications centre. Seating himself upon the central chair he commanded the communications officer to contact Lord Vader and then instructed his staff to leave.

Vader's image appeared before the Emperor. "Yes, my Master."

"Lord Vader, an opportunity has arisen for you to redeem your failures with Starkiller and to wipe out the Rebels at their source. I have been informed of your apprentice's escape. I want you to lure him back to you and then allow him to capture you, taking you to the Rebels. Once among them, you will kill them all."

The image of the submissive Vader knelt before his master made no response.

"Lord Vader? Did you not hear me?"

"Yes Master. Once the Rebels have me, how am I to escape?"

The Emperor sneered, "You are a Dark Lord of the Sith, escape should not present a problem for you."

"Yes Master."

Palpatine ended the coded transmission and swivelled slightly in his chair. A wicked smile spread across his cracked lips as he began to wheeze out a croaking laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

-2-

Galen Marek had endured much and the hardships he had faced on Kamino and Cato Neimoidia were all for her, until at last he had found her and had saved her, and in the process he had delivered Vader to the newly formed Rebellion.

Starkiller looked through the dimly lit hold at the captured Darth Vader. "I let you live…"

Vader's life support unit had been repaired since their battle and the steady breathing of the Dark Lord's respirator was his only response.

"You tell me I'm a clone, but I chose to spare you."

Another rhythmic artificial breath.

"Maybe Kota is right. Maybe this is all a trick, a way to get me so confused that I'd forget who I really am and become your slave again. But either way, I let you live. I've finally broken your hold over me."

Starkiller turned and left without waiting for a response, but as he reached the light of the corridor outside the hold, Vader's deep voice spoke.

"As long as she lives, I will always control you," he promised.

Starkiller stood with his back to Vader for a moment, before continuing on from the hold and up to the cockpit of the _Rogue Shadow_.

As Juno Eclipse had said to Princess Leia, several small freighters were already in orbit, preparing to depart for different destinations, when the _Rogue Shadow_ arrived among the space wreckage of the Battle of Kamino.

"Prepare for light speed," Juno advised, before launching the _Shadow_ along with the rest of the fleet, off into hyperspace.

Moments later, _Slave I_ fell away from the wreckage of a Star Destroyer. Boba Fett had waited until the _Rogue Shadow_ left and then released the docking clamps on his ship. Wasting no time he programmed his navigation computer to track the _Rogue Shadow's_ course and follow. Fett efficiently plotted his own course and made the jump into light speed.

It was not long before a third ship rose from the planet and left the system.

Concealed in the shadows and cloaked in the darkness of the Kaminoan storm, the Emperor's spies had watched. At the Emperor's command they had been watching Kamino and they had seen Starkiller as he fought his way through to his old master and then, for the second time, defeated him.

The spies had watched from the shadows of Kamino, ignorant of their master's plan as it began to unfold. No mere clone could defeat a Dark Lord of the Sith so this was indeed the returned Galen Marek. The spies had observed, making no move to interfere when Vader was captured and taken away by the Rebels, instead awaiting the right time to slip away themselves and report back to Emperor Palpatine.

As their sleek ship departed the system, they remained unaware that the bounty hunter, Boba Fett knew as much as they did and had already left in pursuit of his employer.


	4. Chapter 4

-3-

Juno Eclipse left the _Rogue Shadow's_ autopilot in charge as they soared through hyperspace. She felt suddenly self-aware and unsure of herself as she glanced over to the co-pilot's seat and its occupant, a man she thought she'd never see again.

Kota entered the cockpit with Proxy a step behind him. "Just like old times, eh boy?" Kota said to Starkiller as he put a reassuring hand on Juno's shoulder.

Starkiller ignored the comment and asked, "Is Vader secure?"

"Don't worry," Kota instructed. "There are four guards with him, three human and one robotic."

Starkiller visibly relaxed as Juno stole another glance at him. Without warning he rose and left the cockpit.

As the door slide shut Juno asked Kota, "What's wrong with him?"

"The lies that Vader told him. He's still unsure what to believe."

"Do you believe it's really him and not a clone?"

Kota let out a short laugh, "Oh it's him all right. I just don't know how."

Despite Kota's claim, Juno still felt a reservation. _Could it really be Galen? How could he have come back? How did he survive? _These questions fed her doubts and instead of leaving the cockpit to find him, she found herself distracted with optimising the mathematical efficiency of their course through the Expansion Region towards the Core.

In the training room aboard the _Shadow,_ Galen faced off against some of his former foes, losing himself in the meditation of battle, giving himself to the Force. His twin lightsabers whirled and flashed as he annihilated the opponents of his test, before settling into a calmer form of meditation. The answers he sought had not come through battle, they had not come through training. Perhaps now in quiet solitude a clue to who he was would be revealed to him.

Breathing steadily and focusing on himself, on the centre of his being, Starkiller dreamt.

Blue skies filled with rolling white clouds crossed his vision. A healthy world blanketed with soft green grass. Starkiller could feel he was not alone, and looking around in his vision he saw a child running toward him, but still too far away to make out clearly. A hand slipped into his own and Juno was at his side. Her touch stunned him and the dream ended.

Back in the _Rogue Shadow_, Starkiller sat alone tormented by his thoughts.

The trip to the fleet rendezvous remained awkward in the confined space of the ship. Both Starkiller and Juno did their best to avoid each other, both seemingly afraid of disappointment. Juno feared that this man would turn out to be a clone of her love, but her fear was dwarfed by Starkiller's own doubts. He was not afraid of being a clone, but only that Juno could not love him if he was.

Kota did his best to convince them both and even Proxy had confirmed that there was a one hundred percent DNA match between Starkiller and the man Proxy has spent so long trying to kill. However, this did little to convince either Juno or Starkiller.

For nearly three years Juno had mourned the loss of her love. Then rumours had surfaced of an incredibly powerful Force user's escape from Kamino, of destruction brought upon Cato Neimoidia, news that left her to ponder what was going on. Juno was distracted by her thoughts, then the bounty hunter had come and taken her, delivering her to her worst nightmare. To have Galen so abruptly returned to her as her rescuer once more had stunned her. Then having him so close on the ship as they travelled through hyperspace, she had realised that she had not moved on as much as she thought she had.


	5. Chapter 5

-4-

"Good to have you back, General Kota!" came the call from the loyal men of the Rebellion aboard the new flagship.

Kota acknowledged with goodwill as he supervised the transport of their captive to his secured holding cell, then went with the other officers for his debriefing.

As the man who had delivered Vader to the Rebellion, Starkiller was seen as a hero, but his solitary attitude and aura of power were enough to ensure he was left alone. Juno watched as he departed the ship and followed the junior officer and the guard to the quarters that had been assigned to him aboard the frigate.

Now that she was off of the ship and away from Starkiller, Juno felt a sudden sense of panic. Whether it was the trauma of her kidnap at the hands of Boba Fett from just such a ship or abuse Vader had put her though, she suddenly did not want to be without Starkiller. Leaving things aboard the _Shadow_ she made her way through the busy base until she stood before the door to Starkiller's room. Her hand hesitated above the door before knocking and while she paused in doubt, Starkiller opened the door.

"Juno, are you all right? I sensed your confusion."

"We need to talk and discuss what's happened, how we feel and what we're going to do – what you're going to do, whether you're staying with the Rebellion. I can't just leave and I don't want you to either." These were the things that Juno wanted to say, but when the door slid open and Starkiller stood before her, a look of concern on his rugged faced, Juno lost control. All the grief of the past years, the love for him and the loss came flooding out of her, and like the first time she'd felt like this on the _Shadow_, Juno lunged forward and kissed him.

His arms rose to embrace her and she did not need the Force to see that they would be together. Suddenly he broke away and said to her, "I'm not him."

Juno answered his fears with her eyes, staring into his and counselling his soul. '_You are him_,' her eyes said as she leaned in and kissed him again. There was no doubt in her mind now that it was really him, simply because in her heart she did not want to believe anything else.

They spent the night together and they were left in peace to do so.

Afterwards, Juno spoke softly, "When you came for me and fought Vader, you were more powerful than anything I saw on your missions those years ago."

"Years? It's only been six months."

"No it hasn't," Juno answered as she sat up. "Galen, it's been three years!"

"Three years?" he echoed in disbelief. Swinging his legs from the bed Galen sat with his head in his hands. "He always lies!" Galen stated with supressed fury. As he spoke the room seemed to vibrate and a deep rolling like distant thunder shook the room's furniture.

"Galen," cautioned Juno. She shook her head not understanding the growth in his power. "What happened to you?"

"I thought my power had grown because it had to, because I needed it to escape Kamino and find you. Now, I think that the years I spent at one with the Force have strengthened me in ways I don't even fully understand yet." Marek sighed and Juno felt his frustration.

Juno's heart ached as she realised all he had endured to be with her, to come back to her. "Perhaps Kota will be able to help you?" she suggested.

He gave no answer as she reached out and eased him back onto the bed, resting herself upon him, comforting him in her embrace.

"Juno, lets run away from all this. We'll go and we'll leave Vader and the Empire and the Rebellion behind and go somewhere where they'll never find us."

"But the Empire is spread out across the entire galaxy."

"Then we'll go beyond this galaxy, out into the unknown regions."

Juno lifted her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. "They'll always find us. Besides we can't leave the Rebellion now. There are things to be done, things that you could help accomplish. I'm only a pilot, but you're a powerful Jedi!"

"Am I? Or am I a Sith? I don't know the answer to that any more than I know if I'm really him."

"Well," Juno began soothingly, "the first step is to stop referring to yourself as _him_. You _are_ Galen Marek. The Galen I knew was an apprentice Sith, but he turned away from that path and used his powers to become a Jedi. To hear Kota talk about it, there have been very few Jedi as powerful as you."


	6. Chapter 6

-5-

Days later, aboard the Rebel fleet flagship, Rahm finally had the chance to speak again with Starkiller. The old general stood at the door to the young man's quarters and seeing Juno inside, asked, "Take a walk with me, there's something I need to ask you."

Starkiller glanced over at Juno, who nodded her head gesturing for him to go.

"How are you?" Kota asked. "Head any clearer yet?"

Starkiller shook his head, "I still feel confused."

"Perhaps you should look into your heart rather than into your mind."

Starkiller made no response, tired of the subject.

As the two Jedi walked the corridors Rahm said, "I've been meaning to talk to you, to ask you what you found on Dagobah that gave you such a strong vision."

"I don't really know. I found a cave. When I went in, it showed me the vision of Juno. At first I was surrounded by a nightmare, by clones… Then as I went further, everything changed and I saw the attack on the _Salvation_."

"Go on."

"When I came out of the cave, I wasn't sure what to do. A creature there told me to follow what I'd seen."

"A creature?" Kota enquired.

"Yes. He said he wasn't a guardian, but a watcher. He spoke in a strange manner but what he said… he seemed to know things about me that he couldn't have known."

"What sort of creature was this?"

"He was short. Green. Wore robes similar to those worn by the Jedi in the history holovids."

Kota stopped in his tracks. "The creature you describe… But it couldn't be."

Turning to face the older man, Starkiller waited for him to explain.

"Years ago during the great Jedi purge, no one ever knew what happened to Master Yoda. It was rumoured he faced the Emperor himself and was killed, but I never believed that. I think you might have found him."

"Yoda?"

"The greatest Jedi Master on the council… at the time of its destruction. We'll need to go back to Dagobah as soon as we can. There's other things to be taken care of first, like dealing with Vader. But you and I boy, we need to go back and make certain."

"I told you General, I'm only here for one reason and she's safe now. I'm not getting involved in your war."

Mon Mothma waited anxiously for General Rahm Kota to arrive. Moments later the door to the briefing room slid aside and the once-blind general entered. Seated amongst the Rebel leaders, Kota let out a deep sigh. "I don't know if there's anything Vader's said that we can use, but it's almost impossible to ignore some things."

"We have Darth Vader in our custody and our intelligence is probably worse off than it was before? Surely there must be something?" General Sheridan reasoned.

Kota flicked his artificial eyes in the senator's direction. "If half the things Vader has told us are true, then this war will go very badly. Getting him to talk at all was almost impossible until our hackers came in and started to use ion scalpels on his limbs. Then he seemed to describe all our worst-case scenarios, telling us so many lies that we can't believe everything, yet we can't ignore what he's saying either. Projects with names like World Devastator and Sun Crusher, research at Centerpoint, phantom fighters, re-enforcements in the form of admirals with whole fleets and worst of all, construction on two more Death Stars. Where do we even begin?"

"I think we should establish where our own new headquarters will be before going after anything the Empire may or may not be developing," General Kirk suggested. "We're still not a strong enough force to be looking at taking the fight to the Empire. Our victory in destroying the first Death Star was, essentially, down to one man and luck. Skywalker carried out the mission but from what I'm told, it was Solo's interference that played a large part in his success. We're lucky to have them!"

"Speaking of relying on one man, has there been any progress with Starkiller?"

Mon Mothma looked at Kota, who smirked and shrugged, then back to General Sheridan to answer his question.

"Jahn, we've tried to convince him to join the fight, but he refuses to leave Juno's side for now or allow her to be put in danger. He's too dangerous for us to leave him for the Empire, so we'll continue to hide him as best we can."

"But if Captain Eclipse could only persuade him to fight, then all these problems could be lessened. I've seen him in action, I saw the security feed we sliced from Kamino and the salvaged Star Destroyer. He has dealt with entire imperial battalions single handed. We need him!"

Kota laughed and sarcastically agreed, "Yes, we do. But how are you going to persuade him to fight? He's still trying to reconcile who he is."

"Yes and besides," General Kirk interrupted, "we have Skywalker now. He's not as powerful as Starkiller, but with Skywalker and his friends we were doing well enough without Starkiller. While that so-called Jedi remained unconscious or off in the spirit world or whatever, we managed to destroy the Death Star. Then Starkiller wakes up, breaks out of Kamino, hardly the fortress world Jahn Sheridan makes it out to be, and finds his way here to us before announcing his retirement?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" asked General Sheridan. "He gave us Darth Vader!"

"And what use has Vader been to us so far, during which time your precious Starkiller has been getting in touch with his inner feelings!" Kirk glanced at Kota, "According to him, enough information to feed our nightmares for a millennium, that's what!"

"Be careful, Kirk. He may not wish to fight right now but we all know how powerful he is. He could yet be the hero we need."

"I agree," said Mon Mothma. "Rahm and I will speak to Juno again, perhaps she will have more luck in persuading Starkiller to help us once we tell her about some of the things Vader had revealed."

Admiral Krane cleared his throat and all eyes went to the normally silent man. "Yes, perhaps. This is not the first time I've heard of these phantom fighters. One of my sources has reported as much to me. I think we should start there and order both Eclipse and Starkiller in on the mission. If they refuse to help, they're on their own."

"But what if the Empire catch up to them?" asked Mon Mothma.

"Not our concern," Krane answered harshly.

"I don't think we need to worry about the Empire catching them," Kota said, his artificial eye glinted a reflection of light in a way that showed his confidence in Starkiller's ability.

"Perhaps," Mon Mothma conceded.

The meeting was suddenly interrupted by an deep explosion and an alarm accompanied by a loud speaker message that sent chills through the entire room. "Prisoner escape!"


	7. Chapter 7

-6-

'_This was even easier than the last time_,' thought Fett as he disintegrated another guardsman. Glancing over at the terror troopers that still accompanied him, he felt a sense of respect for their abilities. While nowhere near as effective as his own Mandalorian methods, the terror trooper tactics definitely accomplished results.

Boarding the Rebel ship and disabling the security had been easier than Boba Fett had expected it to be. The Rebels had been recovering from their heavy losses at Kamino, repairing the ships they still had in the lull from hyperspace travel. Fett had seen his opportunity and snuck aboard with ease. Security was light on and between decks, presumably because the Rebels were so focused on Vader escaping they had overlooked incoming threats. Scanning for imperial ships and allowing _Slave I_ to slip through as a potential trader had already proved fatal for some. '_So far, the hardest part of this job has been finding Vader's lightsaber without being spotted!_' Fett spun around and shot down two more guards as a terror trooper uncloaked to dismember a third.

"This way!" Fett commanded as he led the small squad into a turbo lift. Moments later the two terror troopers dived from the elevator as Fett used his jetpack to fly down the corridor. There were four guards outside Vader's cell and before any of them could react Fett's ion grenade had detonated, disabling their communications and the cell doors' security as well. The robot guard had ion shielding allowing it to continue just long enough for Fett's disintegrator rifle to perforate it. The droid collapsed while the two terror troopers appeared and cut down a guard each, as Fett crashed into the last. The Mandalorian clone rolled to his feet with the guard's throat in one hand and his rifle under the man's chin. Fett's HUD flashed for just a moment as he dispatched the last guard, correcting itself in the blink of an eye, a blink Fett's trained reflexes did not make. Seconds later the cell door was sliced open and Fett peered into the shadows.

A deep artificial breathing came from within the darkness as Fett's night vision switched on. "I am glad you kept your end of the deal," Darth Vader declared.

Moments later the Dark Lord of the Sith was free.

"Here," Fett said as he unclipped the lightsaber and handed it to Vader.

A snap hiss and the crimson blade ignited between them. Fett turned and said, "This way," as he led Vader from the cell, passing between the two terror troopers.

Vader paused and when Fett turned back around, Vader told him, "We will never escape this ship if Starkiller interferes. He will be able to delay us long enough for them to enter hyperspace."

"Already taken care of," Fett announced as he raised a remote detonator. Pushing the single button atop it, there was a sudden explosion behind them, further into the ship. "There goes their hyperdrive. As for Starkiller, I did what you said. He'll have his hands full if he wants to save the girl."

"Excellent," Vader commented as he strode past Fett ignoring the terror troopers as all three fell in behind him.

Starkiller glanced up at the door to his quarters a second before the door hissed open to reveal no one.

"Look out!" Starkiller cried as he shoved Juno to one side and lifted his hands in time to catch the wrists of a terror trooper. As he seized his attacker, another three enemies decloaked and began to stalk Juno. With a cry of rage Starkiller launched his attacker backwards with a powerful Force push and before the body could hit the floor, Starkiller caught it in a Force grip and sent it flying at the trooper closest to Juno. Both attackers were down and by the time they had rolled to their feet, Starkiller stood between them and his love, dual lightsabers at the ready.

Immediately the four terror troopers separated, creating as much space between themselves as they could, all focused on the assassination of Juno Eclipse.

Realising they were here for her, Juno spun around and snatched up her twin blasters. But when she turned to face her attackers, she saw only Starkiller. Juno backed against the wall, the cold metal making the thin material of her clothes stick to the cold sweat upon her back.

Starkiller glanced to his right and then lunged out, catching a terror trooper and impaling him upon a lightsaber blade, before shooting out a blast of lightning at the wall in front of him. A terror trooper shrieked as the bolt singed his shoulder, but was cloaked again before Starkiller could follow up his attack. Allowing the corpse behind him to drop to the floor, Starkiller edged his way closer to Juno. After his first step her blasters erupted, showing the room with bolts that hit nothing.

"Wait," Starkiller told her. They uncloak as they attack and that's when to take them."

Juno was afraid, remembering the fear that had gripped the crew of the _Salvation_ as the terror troopers lived up to their name.

"Vader!" Kota cried as he leapt from his seat. The Jedi ran from the briefing room issuing orders as he fled. "Get the people in that room to safety! Summon the rest of my commandos, tell them to meet me in the docking bay, we must stop Vader!"

Flanked by his squad, Kota ran into the docking bay just as Vader arrived. Kota had with him a squad of ten commandos, three Rebel guards they had collected on the way and Generals' Sheridan and Kirk, both of whom had insisted upon helping. That made a total of fifteen blasters and a lightsaber to stand against Vader. But none of them had been expecting the three figures that accompanied Vader into the docking bay.

Darth Vader looked at Fett and ordered, "Kill those generals and their troops. Leave the Jedi to me."

"As you wish," Fett acknowledged before signalling his two terror troopers to execute Vader's orders.

"Darth Vader! You will answer for your crimes and you will not leave this vessel alive!" Kota challenged.

"You will not stop me," Vader promised as he moved to engage the Jedi. Vader was stronger than his prey, both physically and with the Force. His blows and Force attacks were not parried for long until suddenly, Vader lifted Kota from his feet, gripping him in a Force choke.

The three guards had already been disintegrated and half the commandoes had fallen in taking down one of the terror troopers. As Fett ended the lives of another four commandos and sent General Sheridan to his death with the launch of the homing missile from atop his jetpack, General Kirk watched as Vader executed Kota with both the choke and a hurled lightsaber.

Kirk turned quickly enough to see the last commando fall to the remaining terror trooper, before a well-placed shot from his own blaster dropped the gloating fiend. Kirk had just enough time to savour this small victory before he felt himself being flung through the air via a Force throw. General Kirk crunched upon the deck at Fett's feet as the bounty hunter slowly dropped his head downwards.

"Go to Hell-" Kirk's defiance was cut short by a single shot from Boba Fett.

Starkiller took a final step backwards until he could feel Juno's fearful panting on his neck, then unleashed a lightning storm upon his quarters. The air crackled until there were three shrieks and at once the terror troopers appeared, stunned and shaking with electrical discharge. Immediately Starkiller was upon the two closest, hacking off the limbs of one and decapitating the other, while Juno fired a barrage at the final trooper, landing enough shots to drop a bantha. "Vader!" Starkiller shouted, and before the corpse of the last terror trooper had crumpled to the floor, Starkiller had dashed from the room. He stretched out with his Force awareness and sensed nothing but fear around him, the anticipation and cold delight of the terror troopers was no more. As a speeding blur, Starkiller rushed to the docking bay where he sensed Kota was in danger and then suddenly, Kota was gone. "NO!" screamed Starkiller as he ripped the elevator doors aside and dived into the lift shaft.

Starkiller leapt from the shaft in time to see _Slave I_ pepper the docking bay with blaster fire from its GN-40 twin cannons. Barely able to deflect the blots away from himself, Starkiller was forced to roll to one side as flames leapt up around him. The fire suppression system exploded into life and clouds of extinguishing gas engulfed the bay. When Starkiller had recovered from the moment, Vader and his rescuer had escaped and all that remained were the charred bodies of his fallen Rebel comrades. Kota was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

-7-

"Vader's ship took him to the Dantus system on the other side of the galaxy," stated Admiral Krane. "I believe this has something to do with the rumour regarding the phantom fighters, and following on from that I've had my sources looking into the area."

"Very good, Admiral," Mon Mothma said. "We need to get Vader back if we can." "I believe our having him at all was down to luck. I think instead we should focus on the goal of wiping out the threat posed by these alleged phantom fighters, the modified V38 assault fighters."

"Do you have a plan to do either?"

"I do, Mon Mothma, one I think you'll be interested in hearing. We'll need Starkiller for this though," Krane stated with a measure of pessimism.

"Don't worry, Admiral. Since the loss of brave General Kota, Starkiller has displayed new interest in aiding us."

Admiral Krane's plan was followed and while the Rebels tracked Vader to the Dantus system and began to search for him, they also dedicated resources to the rumour regarding the Empire's phantom fighters. Though Vader remained elusive, it was not long before evidence surfaced that confirmed the existence of the phantom fighters and Admiral Krane's plan to destroy the entire phantom fleet was begun. Part of the operation called for a decoy, someone to take the focus away from Starkiller. A pilot was selected and trained for the mission, which would require him to rendezvous with a Rebel Commander Ru Murleen on the planet of Imdaar and infiltrate the Super Star Destroyer _Terror_ to steal one of the TIE phantoms. Mon Mothma approved the decoy plan while Krane worked on the details with Starkiller for the real plan, for Starkiller to secretly board the _Terror_ and destroy it.

When Admiral Krane believed he had all the information that he could gather, he presented the final mission plans to Juno Eclipse and her guardian, Starkiller.

"Will you do it, Starkiller?" asked Krane.

"Like I told Kota, this is your war not mine, but they'll pay for what they did to him."

Juno felt unnerved by the darkness within Starkiller. Kota's death had pushed him backwards into the dark side, and now he thirsted for vengeance. Starkiller glanced up at her and for a moment his anger seemed to melt.

"You still believe Vader is only waiting for you to leave this ship, to leave Juno unprotected before he kidnaps her again and uses her to control you," Krane stated.

"Yes. Vader is out there!" Starkiller answered in justification for his fears.

"If you don't do this then the Emperor will have a fleet of invisible TIE's at his command. Surely that is threat you cannot allow! With a fleet of invisible ships the threat of kidnapping and more rises for everyone!"

Starkiller remained silent, but Krane continued the conversation. "Starkiller, this is your last chance. If you do not aid in this plan then when we gather at Hoth you will not be welcome. The Rebel Alliance will no longer be a refuge for you."

Again Starkiller did not answer, for he was lost in thought. He knew that the only way to keep Juno away from the Empire and to stop Vader from controlling him was to run, to flee to the unknown regions. The mention of an invisible ship had sparked an idea and already Starkiller had a plan to escape.

"I will do this Admiral, on one condition; Juno flies the _Rogue Shadow_ and stays cloaked nearby. I don't trust the protection of this fleet against that bounty hunter."

Juno was surprised by Galen's answer, but immediately snatched at the opportunity to aid the Rebellion once more. "Yes! I'll be close by and will stay in radio contact the whole time if you want me to."

"Then it's agreed," said Krane.

"Yes," Starkiller confirmed.

"I'm scheduled to run the pilot we've selected, codename Rookie One, through his TIE training tomorrow, so you'll have a day to reach Imdaar ahead of him and position yourself at the landing platform. When they arrive, they're not to see you, don't forget that. If they're captured and they alert the imperials to your presence you may not get the chance to complete the mission."

"I'll be there and they won't see me," Starkiller promised with more than a hint of menace in his voice.

Admiral Krane nodded and then left, satisfied with the outcome.

When he had gone, Starkiller took Juno in his arms and whispered, "We're going to die on this mission."


	9. Chapter 9

-8-

Starkiller watched as the hatch on the _Rogue Shadow_ closed, making it entirely invisible once more before it departed into the skies of Imdaar.

"See you soon," Starkiller whispered into the communicator, as he made his way into the trees. The decoy pilot, Rookie One and Commander Murleen were scheduled to arrive from the other side of the landing platform, where resistance should be much lighter.

Like he had done in the forests of Kashyyyk, Starkiller swept through the imperials like a storm they could not hope to weather. His lightsabers burned almost as hotly as his fury, as his anger fed the Force through him and out of him as blasts of lightning, shoves of pure power and explosions of gravity. Nothing that stood in Starkiller's way could hope to stop him, but that did not prevent them from trying. As he reached the landing platform, an AT-AT lumbered into view and Starkiller faced his only challenge in the mission so far. But even the troops spewing from the belly of the beast and its powerful cannons and stomping feet were nothing more than a hindrance, an inconvenience to this dark Jedi.

The Rebel pilot Rookie One and Commander Ru Murleen were oblivious to Starkiller's presence, masked in the Force as he was, as they boarded the shuttle _Epsilon Four_ and flew him further on his mission. When they docked with the Super Star Destroyer _Terror_ and, donned in stormtrooper armour, left the shuttle to begin their decoy mission, Starkiller slipped away behind them and then dashed into a corridor, ready to begin his own mission.

The _Terror_ was familiar to Starkiller, though his knowledge and experience aboard Vader's ship, _Executor_ was limited to the small places in the underbelly of the ship that Vader had confined him to, it still added to a sense of familiarity. The cold metal walls and the polished floor, silence disturbed only by the ambient sounds of the ships essential systems. Stealth had never been Starkiller's strong suit. In his life he had always been a destroyer, a saviour and a hero, but never a quiet one. Here, as he made his way towards the ships docking mechanisms he was no different. To begin with, resistance was fairly light. It seemed that troopers were being despatched to take care of Murleen and Rookie One, but as Starkiller progressed more and more attention fell upon him until dozens and dozens of troopers, droids and attack mechanisms were in his path. The fight was epic as Starkiller, nearing his goal and the objective of his official mission, felt at one with the Force.

On the bridge of the _Terror_ Darth Vader felt a familiar presence. Frustrated by the report of Rebel spies aboard his ship, he began to focus his mind upon the presence he had sensed when Admiral Sarn arrived. "Lord Vader, docking manoeuvres complete. Alpha Control awaits your command."

This report distracted Vader from the vague feeling of familiarity. "I see… and our unwelcome guests?" Vader enquired of the spies.

The smug grin on Sarn's face dropped to concern, "Ah. We've temporarily lost them," he admitted.

"Put all decks on red alert. Double the search patrols. There'll be no one to stop us this time!" Vader claimed.

"Yes Lord Vader."

As the patrols continued their search for the Rebel spies, reports finally reached Vader's communications officer from a trooper that had survived through Starkiller's attack long enough to make a coherent report.

"We're under direct attack from a Jedi! He's lethal! Send more back-up!"

"Sir," called the communications officer.

"He's here," Vader said to himself. Turning to look down at the communications officer, Vader commanded, "Clear the area. I will deal with this personally."

"Shall I detain the bounty hunter and send him to meet you, my Lord?" the officer asked.

Vader stopped midstride, weighing the value of the idea against the insolence of suggesting it. "No, leave the Jedi to me."

"Yes my Lord."

When the reinforcements stopped coming, Starkiller did not sense a trap. Instead he saw his opportunity and without hesitation savaged the mechanisms that operated the docking controls. If Krane was right then this ship was the warehouse for all the phantom TIE's built so far, then it had to be destroyed. By disabling the ship he had ensured it would remain attached to whatever is was moored to.

Starkiller found the occasional straggler on his way to the reactor controls in engineering. Strange in that resistance now seemed so light but Starkiller found no complaint with that. Once he reached the reactor he used the Force to grip the key components in the housing and structure of the device, twisting them and grinding them into one another, ensuring the eventual destruction was guaranteed but leaving himself enough time to escape. Murleen and the pilot had been ordered to steal a phantom fighter and escape quickly, so they should be gone soon.

While locked in a mental battle with the reactor's physical resistance to his will, Starkiller sensed something more to the ship's structure than should be possible. A sense of building and construction branched out from the ship's hull, down into a hub of busy efficiency. The answer as to what this was flashed into Starkiller's mind like the igniting of a lightsaber. While the _Terror_ filled the role of warehouse for the completed ships, the Super Star Destroy was currently moored to the factory that birthed the phantom fighters. In his mind's eye, Starkiller saw the great arms of the machines used to build and modify the V38 assault fighters. Suddenly the mission took on a new stage as Starkiller's own agenda changed to meet this new demand.

Turning away from the sabotaged reactor Starkiller froze, gripped by the recognition of Vader's presence close by. The lights in the reactor bay flickered out and the dim glow of emergency lighting kicked in, accompanied by a menacing artificial breath and a deep voice.

"You were weak when I found you, now your hatred has become your strength. It binds you and has made your powers grow. I sense your power, but you supress it with your decision to turn away from the dark side, to turn away from me."

"I'll never join you!" Starkiller cried as he ignited his lightsabers and crossed the blades up in front of him. "I'll never be a Sith."

Vader brought his own blade to life. "So be it… Jedi."

Starkiller screamed as he rushed at Vader, taking the attack to his old master. Vader was pushed to parry all the incoming blows but Starkiller was unable to break Vader's defence.

"You will never leave here alive," threatened Vader. Suddenly a Force shove launched Starkiller backwards and he realised that leaving here was exactly what he needed to do. Juno was waiting for him and there was yet more to be done in the destruction of the phantom fighters.

Starkiller was forced to make his way back the way he had come and veer off to the docking clamps themselves. Darth Vader pursued him, their fight resting on their individual strengths in the Force, as Starkiller attempted to pass through doorways and corridors that Vader would attempt to slam shut or collapse entirely.

"You cannot escape," said Vader, his words floating through the near darkness of the damaged ship, haunting Starkiller as he fled.

At last Starkiller found a path he was able to take, but only moments after he arrived at the docking clamps Vader appeared.

The hold that they were in was a circular space. Outside, Starkiller could see the clamps connected around this room, their housing making for a secure connection. The floor of the room was like a large ring and in the centre was a turbo lift, its shaft going only downwards. Starkiller sensed this was the way he must go. As he dashed for the lift there was a grinding of metal as suddenly the lift itself ripped through the shaft doors and flew at Starkiller! Raising his hands the young Jedi caught the cylinder shaped box, stopping its momentum barely inches from his face. Then, finding Vader at the entrance to the room, Starkiller pushed the lift towards his former master, but the battle of their wills was too much for the turbo lift and instead of flying at one or the other of them, it flew upwards and smashed into the high ceiling of the room. Moments later the lift had crashed back down bringing burning debris with it.

"You have had your chance to kill me twice now. You will not have another," promised Vader, as with lightsaber at the ready he advanced towards his former apprentice.

Behind him, Starkiller could hear a hiss of air rushing into the hole that led into the turbo lift shaft. He knew he must take the shaft, lift or not, but that to turn his back on Vader now would be suicide. Flicking the lit blade of one lightsaber up behind his back into his favoured Soresu style of fighting, Starkiller raised his second blade to point at Vader. "It ends here!"

This time it was Darth Vader that brought the attack as he strode over to his former student and swung a heavy blow straight down at him. Starkiller caught the blow on a cross formed by both his blades and grunted at the weight of the attack. There was another grind of metal as more debris fell from above them and small flames begin to lick around the destruction.

Vader's attacks came quickly and aggressively with Starkiller finding himself pushed more and more to block each blow. All the while Starkiller's anger grew and his hatred of Vader fed his strength.

"Only your fury can destroy me. Return to me and give yourself to the dark side," invited Vader.

Starkiller knew Vader was right but he had no intention of returning to his old master. Instead, as he had done aboard the Death Star and then on the pier at Kamino, Starkiller unleashed his true potential and hurled himself at Vader. His attacks were almost too fast to see and Vader slipped upon one of them allowing a glancing blow to shearing sparks from his forearm, forcing him back from the confrontation. The break in the battle was enough for Starkiller to build up his Force fury and then unleash a Force repulse of such power that the surrounding deck and debris was obliterated. Vader raised his free hand and the power of Starkiller's attack was deflected away, but not without consequence, as Vader was forced back several steps and the edges of his cape were shredded. The dark lord fell to one knee and lowered his head, prone to a lethal blow. But wasting no time, Marek spun and launched himself away from the dark lord diving forward into the open turbo lift shaft. Spinning as soon as he began to fall, Galen shot Force lighting out behind him at the top of the shaft to devastating effect. The bolts wrapped the deck surrounding the shaft and something exploded causing flames to engulf the lid of the shaft way.

Darth Vader had no choice but to retreat from the burning room and return in thwarted silence to the bridge of the _Terror_, as the damage control droids raced past him, attempting to subdue the flames.


	10. Chapter 10

-9-

Vader was defeated once more and again, the choice to end his life had been resisted. Starkiller was no more as Galen Marek felt his old self returning. Plummeting through the shaft, falling down faster and faster and using the Force to accelerate faster still, Marek dodged the sides of the shaft until at last he grabbed at the air and stopped his descent, to land in an elegant somersault. Marek found himself in a superstructure built into what must be a huge asteroid. A monitor near the lift shaft displayed a structural readout and on it, he could see a diagram of a massive arm that extended from the cylindrical docking tube and embedded into the asteroid. The purpose of the room he had fought Vader in became clear, as Galen realised that the phantom TIE's would be shipped up around the turbo lift shaft and into the room above for onward transmission further up into the belly of the _Terror_, directly to the docking bays.

Below him Galen could see part of the factory floor, as completed phantom TIE's rolled past, ready for transport to the _Terror_.

Galen Marek spread his feet and began to concentrate. His Force fury remained cracking about his fingertips and it was no easy task to calm himself so soon after his battle with Darth Vader. Calling upon all his discipline and knowledge of the Force, Galen focused his intent and his attempt to bring total destruction to the factory.

Far above the meditating Jedi, upon the bridge of the _Terror_, Vader's anger smouldered, for once again his apprentice had escaped him. A moment later Admiral Sarn approached and stood nervously in front of Vader. "We cannot control the damage, Lord Vader, the reactor core could go critical at any time."

"Disengage from space dock, "Vader instructed.

"We cannot my Lord. Docking controls are inoperative."

Vader had hoped to be taking the defeated Starkiller back with him, but that plan was now impossible. "Then I must leave here on my own." The Sith lord raised his right hand and gripped Sarn's throat with the Force. "You have failed me for the last time. You will not have an opportunity to do so again," Vader said before turning and leaving Sarn's corpse where it fell. Admiral Sarn had indeed failed, but it seemed he paid the price for Vader's failure to defeat Starkiller as well as his own.

A short while later, Vader departed the doomed Super Star Destroyer just before the damage to the ship turned catastrophic and the entire vessel exploded. The detonation caused a tremor in the structure of the factory and at once the previously cloaked construction shimmered into sight.

In the area of space above Galen Marek, Commander Ru Murleen's heart skipped a beat as she laid eyes on the massive structure. "That's where they're making the TIE's!" she exclaimed to Rookie One at the blaster controls of the phantom fighter they had succeeded in stealing. "There must be thousands of them in there! If we don't do something about them it doesn't matter if we get this thing home or not."

"Uh, what do you have in mind?" Rookie One tentatively asked.

"Maybe it's better if you _don't _know." Ru answered as she swung their stolen vessel towards the factory seated upon the massive asteroid. Little did she know that as she flew the ship into the factory with the intention of destroying it from within, that someone else was already instigating his own plan to do just that.

In his heightened state of awareness Marek could feel the station, the construction of the ships around him and beyond. He felt the Rebels as they flew into the factory and further outwards still, he sensed the anger that emanated from his former master. Suddenly, that anger turned to surprise and then anticipation. Stretching out yet further with his feelings, Galen sensed the source of Vader's excitement; the _Rouge Shadow_. Vader had discovered Marek's ship and was even now moving into attack position. Marek saw the vision of the present as clearly as if he still wandered in the Force, drifting just outside the factory. Vader's TIE closed in and then with a lethal spray of fire, scorched the hull of the _Shadow_.

Juno had told him that while the _Shadow_ had been in Kota's possession he had used it to run missions against the Empire and that the ship had been beat-up. Its experimental stygium crystal cloaking device was damaged so that the cloak could not always be maintained. Built by Sienar Fleet Systems Kota had gone to them to try to get the ship repaired, but Sienar had no record of the ship in their databanks, since the craft was originally built in total secrecy and all workers, organic or mechanic, had since been eliminated.

The ship was essentially unrepairable, with work on an entirely new ship being an easier and cheaper option. Even if the ship could have been repaired, the fact that the stygium cloaking device allowed the _Rogue Shadow_ to become cloaked for only short periods of time anyway would not make it practical for a long term flights. Kota had not been as interested in the ship's ability to cloak indefinitely and had accepted that cloaking for long enough to gain the element of surprise was all he had needed.

Vader kept up his attack and with each successful hit the _Rogue Shadow _shuddered, until abruptly the wing panels on the right side of the ship were blown off. The ship gave one last shudder before Vader's constant rain of fire completely overloaded what remained of the shields and the vessel was destroyed.

Starkiller smiled as he sensed Vader's delight and pored his own satisfaction into one final burst of Force energy. At that moment Rookie One and Ru Murleen blasted the core of the factory and the entire asteroid felt a tremor.

Galen opened his eyes and leapt away from the shelf above the factory floor. Within moments he had boarded one of the new fighters and was manoeuvring off of the runway and away from the other ships. Then, just as the factory began to detonate and explode Marek launched his fighter away from the destruction. As he escaped, he could feel the elation of his comrades, whom still remained ignorant to his presence. As the Rebels escaped in one direction and Vader launched his fighter to light speed in another, Galen set his return course for Imdaar.


	11. Chapter 11

-10-

At the agreed rendezvous back at the Rebel TIE training outpost, Ru Murleen and Rookie One were greeted on the landing platform by the congratulations of a crowd of Rebel pilots, before Admiral Krane himself appeared.

"Well kid, I didn't think you had it in you," Krane admitted as he offered his hand Rookie One.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Looks like the Alliance owes you a debt of gratitude. Without the advantage of their phantom fleet, the empire will have to face us on equal ground. Once again, you've saved us all. You even faced a little competition. I guess that entitles you to this."

As Krane attached the medal of the Rebel insignia to the stormtrooper armour that his decoy still wore, his mind lingered on the family crest that the insignia had been taken from. Galen Marek's family crest. No one other than Mon Mothma and Krane himself would know of Marek's involvement in the mission to destroy the phantom fleet, of the 'competition' between Starkiller and the two heroes now before him in destroying the phantom menace. Instead this young pilot together with Commander Murleen would take all the credit.

Krane had been informed of the _Rogue Shadow_'_s_ destruction and while he'd waited for the stolen phantom fighter to arrive, had received confirmation of the report. There had been no contact from either Starkiller or Eclipse since the destruction of the phantom fleet and Admiral Krane did not know if Starkiller had been aboard the _Rogue Shadow_ when it had been destroyed or not, but he suspected since that even if Starkiller had somehow survived, which seemed to be something he was very good at, his words that this was not his war would at last be proved true, and Krane and the other Rebels would not here from Starkiller again.

The miniature holo-display upon the control board of Darth Vader's fighter crackled to life, and the Emperor swivelled his chair to face Vader. "The Rebels have eliminated your invincible fleet."

"Yes my master," Vader conceded in with supressed fury. "The Rebels have proven surprisingly clever, but we are not defeated."

"Oh?" Palpatine enquired.

"I have at last ended the resistance offered by my former apprentice. Starkiller is dead."

"You are certain?"

"Yes, my master." What Vader said to his master was true from his point of view. He had slain Starkiller's reason to fight, and even if his former apprentice had somehow survived the destruction of the TIE phantom factory, he would have no will to fight left in him, for without her, he would be a broken man.

The TIE phantom had barley landed when Galen dropped from beneath it before its crew elevator had completely dropped. He hit the ground running and in moments he had Juno in his arms.

"Did it work?" she asked.

"Yes. The remote worked and Vader found and destroyed the ship. He thinks you're dead and he doesn't know one way or the other about me, not for sure, which means he won't waste time and resources in trying to find me."

Juno squeezed him tight. "Then it's over," she stated.

Galen returned her embrace with a sigh. "Not quite. There's one more thing I have to do before we secure a new ship and head off into the unknown regions."

The phantom fighter set down on Dagobah and as Juno rose to leave with him, Galen raised a hand. "I need to do this alone," he said humbly.

Without a word, Juno sat back down and watched as he left.

Galen made his way through the swamps until he reached the dwelling of the strange little creature he now knew to be Jedi Master Yoda. Moving past the quaint home, Galen returned to the cave where he had before seen his vision of Juno. The little master was outside the cave once more, seemingly drawing a glyph in the mud at his feet. Yoda looked up as Galen approached. "Returned, you have," the old Jedi said in as much of a question as a statement.

"Yes. Master Rahm Kota told me who you are."

"Roh," Yoda growled, "Kota, a fierce Jedi he was."

"Kota told me that you were the greatest of the Jedi masters on the council."

Yoda looked down, sad regret in his eyes.

"I need you to take away my powers so that Darth Vader and the Emperor can never find me by sensing my strength in the Force. I need to disappear from the Force entirely. Can you do that?"

Yoda sighed. "Much darkness I still sense in you, strong in the dark side you are. But what you ask, a serious decision it is."

"Can you do it? Will you do it?"

"Through much you have suffered, so help you, I will."

Yoda raised his arm and Marek stepped forward to sit before the old master. Yoda held his palm open before Marek's forehead and slowly a dark aura seeped from the man and surrounded Yoda's hand. The aura resembled a tiny dark storm cloud which began to grow at an alarming rate, until without warning Yoda cried out and then shot the cloud into the cave. Yoda's sudden breathlessness worried Marek in a way he would not previously have cared. "Are you all right, Master?"

"Recover, I will. Now, I sense you must go. Eager to continue your journey, you are."

For the first time that he could remember, Galen had reason to smile at the potential happiness that the future may bring.

"Thank you," he whispered as he rose to leave Yoda as he had found him.

As the man turned Yoda spoke, "Your strength in the Force I did not touch, for only your heart required nurturing." Galen turned back to the master and listened. "Much love you have but it was supressed by the dark seed Vader planted in you long ago. Your anger he nurtured as he led you to the dark side, but Vader's influence will reside in you no more," Yoda announced as he looked from Galen to the cave beside them. "That place, strong with the dark side it now is, as Vader's taint it will forever bare."

Galen bowed deeply to Yoda. "I can never repay you."

"The Force is in all things and binds us all. In ending your suffering, I end the suffering of all."

Galen understood the wisdom imparted by the Jedi master and humbly retreated away.

Soon after, Yoda heard the sound of TIE engines as the cloaked phantom fighter left and for two more years the Jedi master would be left in solitude. But then, a new hope would come for the freedom of the galaxy in the form of a young man, a man Yoda would train for a time. But before his training would be complete the boy would leave and Yoda's old friend Obi-Wan Kenobi would return through the Force and say of the new Jedi apprentice, "That boy's our last hope."

To this statement, Yoda would answer, "No, there is another."


End file.
